Howard "Buzz" Feiten is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, session musician, and luthier. He is best known as a lead and rhythm guitarist and for having patented a tuning system for guitars and similar instruments. Feiten also manufactures and markets solid-body electric guitars.
Early years
Feiten grew up in Huntington Station and Centerport, New York, where he was known by schoolmates and friends as "Buzzy". The son of a musical mother, Pauline, and an airline pilot, Howard Sr., Feiten received training in classical music as a child. His older sister Paula was a flautist and fashion model in the mid-1960s. A younger brother, Jon, was also involved in music and the arts. In youth, he studied several musical instruments, settling on the French horn. As a teenager, he played in all-county and all-state youth orchestras on the instrument. Feiten first played Carnegie Hall in 1966 on French horn in American Youth Performs. In 1966, he auditioned at the Juilliard School on French horn but was rejected. In high school he belonged to a band called The Reasons Why with Steve Beckmeier, Al Stegmeyer, Danny Horton, and Daniel Kretzer. The band was successful on Long Island, and two songs, "Tell Her One More Time" and "Same Old Worries", were mentioned in a Billboard 'new singles' article in the summer of 1966.
Feiten patented a tuning system for guitars, marketed as the Buzz Feiten Tuning System, which is intended to correct problems of the standard equal temperament. The system can be retrofitted by a repair shop or luthier that has paid a licensing fee and received specific training. The system consists of a compensated string nut and a method for intonating the bridge. The system was licensed to Washburn Guitars and Suhr Guitars. The tuning system is intended to create more accurate tonality of notes played on the lowest three or four frets. Some guitarists claimed to hear no difference, perhaps attributed to their particular playing style or primary musical genre. A few stated the opinion that, while a BFTS-enhanced guitar was clearly superior when recording alongside electronic keyboards, it generally rendered their tone "sterile" or "thin." Others believe that despite the company's "three or four" frets claim, the system provided marked improvement in accuracy virtually everywhere on the fretboard.
Guitars
In 2012, Feiten announced the founding of Buzz Feiten Guitars to manufacture and market solid-body electric guitars. The firm initially offered five models, the Blues Pro, T Pro, Signature Elite, Classic Pro, and Elite Pro. In 2018, the company was renamed Buzz Feiten Guitar Research, offering three models of SuperNova guitar: Classic, Futura, and Futura Super-Trem. The "Buzz Feiten Tuning System" is mentioned only in regards to the Classic.
